I haven't been satisfied with a space combat sim since the Independance War series, so forgive me for being skeptical. I hope this is finally the game, but I noticed holes all over there FAQ thread. Just a small for instance: They said their "…flight physics were influenced by Freelancer, …, and X3, so it will be more simulation feel rather than arcade…" Well, I hate to lay it on them, but those games had arcade style flight, so I expect nothing different from this one. Flight physics are a really big deal for me. I spent full price on Darkstar One and only played it for 30 minutes because of that.

Still, I'll try to say something positive - The screens are pretty and the worlds look really cool. I would like to explore scenery like that. And the character and ship development possibilities sound pretty good too.

— ..& so they take the fiction all out of the Jabberwock & I recognize & accept him as a fact. - Mark Twain, May 30, 1880

Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
Well, I hate to lay it on them, but those games had arcade style flight, so I expect nothing different from this one.

I fear that the days of Newtonian-physics space sims may have passed, and I lament it greatly. The IWars and Terminus were the most recent examples I can remember of realistic flight physics (excluding the sim Orbiter) and they were really special to me.

I remember reading in one of the Battlecruiser forums where someone said (and I paraphrase) "by this point in the future, people will have solved the problem of Newtonian physics". Even if we ignore the flight of fancy element, I had to ask "Why would you want to?" In space combat, a person restricted to atmospheric-style flight is going to be swatted down instantly by a person with more complete control of his spacecraft.

While I won't argue that it takes more experience to fly this way, where you have to control not only pitch, yaw and roll but also the ability to translate in any direction and where all that really matters is your relation to other objects. Once you've mastered it, it just is so much darn fun. And while it can be tedious for some routine tasks, flight-assist models like in Terminus make it possible to enjoy some of the conveniences of atmospheric flight without breaking with realism.

That said, I've resigned myself to just enjoying the few space sim games we get as it is. I'm still psyched about Precursors, particularly with its RPG elements, and look forward to the continuing X series as well.

Originally Posted by Guhndahb
I fear that the days of Newtonian-physics space sims may have passed, and I lament it greatly.

Elite 4 ?

Originally Posted by Guhndahb
While I won't argue that it takes more experience to fly this way, where you have to control not only pitch, yaw and roll but also the ability to translate in any direction and where all that really matters is your relation to other objects. Once you've mastered it, it just is so much darn fun.

Originally Posted by lanael
Yes, it's fun but it brings a big learning curve that most devs/publishers are trying to avoid… (unfortunately). Mass market, blah, dumbed down, blah …

Indeed. And, space sims/games are niche to begin with, but from what I've seen (so take with large grain of salt) in forums and discussions on this matter is that even amongst the devotees of the genre, the percentage that likes this kind of flight model is pretty small.

With Precursors, I just hope it will have at least the flight model sophistication of the X series, which is hardly ideal, but still less arcade-style than some and sufficient for me to enjoy.

Originally Posted by lanael
Originally Posted by Guhndahb View Post
I fear that the days of Newtonian-physics space sims may have passed, and I lament it greatly.

Elite 4 ?

Warhead, I-War deluxe & I-War2 FTW. Allthough realism is nice I do enjoy less realistic games too that have good combat like wing commander saga or the xwing series. X series is okay but could use more of story and less of extensive trading&building options.

Looking at the precursor pictures - there are no cockipts (thats a definete minus), the space combat graphics including the "hud" looks ugly and the weapons look arcadeish - I mean the craft has 400 generic missiles?!!!i*

Overall the whole space element could be just a sideshow for everything else. As a genrebreaking game it reminds me a bit of the last dynasty (1995) from sierra that was a spaceshooter/adventure game:

The last dynasty failed miserably - not the least for the bugs and lack of overall gamedesign. The different elements of the game didnt really come together at all.

Id rather see a real space shooter @ xwing & wing commander/privateer with real story and all instead of these eXperimental trade simulators / attempts at genrebreaking. Luckily the fans are working hard with wing commander saga, galactica, privateer and other mods to bring us the games the gamecompanies refuse to deliver.

*And that is the "space game" they are suppose to release in few months

Yes, zakhal, that's what I was afraid of with this game - for a space combat to be done right, it really needs to be the focus of the game. IW 1&2 were so brilliant because they kept all of the action in a cockpit and yet still made you feel like part of the 'verse. They even bordered on role-playing at times, giving you alternate decision options which affected the outcome of the story.

Has anyone played Sins of A Solar Empire?? I know it's not the same thing, but may satisfy my craving for a space-based game. Anyone have thoughts?

— ..& so they take the fiction all out of the Jabberwock & I recognize & accept him as a fact. - Mark Twain, May 30, 1880

Originally Posted by zakhal
Warhead, I-War deluxe & I-War2 FTW. Allthough realism is nice I do enjoy less realistic games too that have good combat like wing commander saga or the xwing series. X series is okay but could use more of story and less of extensive trading&building options.